Messaging systems have been developed that track a user's availability status based on the user's use of the device. Tracking the user's availability status includes, for example, tracking that the user has logged into a message communication device, has been using the messaging application on the device, or has been using other applications on the device. As an example implementation, the message communication device can determine that the user is available if the user has activated the device. The device can further, as part of the status tracking process, continue to consider the user to be available until the user has not used the device for a particular period of time, or until the user logs off.
Message communication devices are linked to other message communication devices through networks. Generally, in order to facilitate real time communication, message communication devices that track user availability status also make the status accessible to other linked devices. In this manner, the user of one device can know that the user of another device is available to receive messages.